Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Westminster · London
Adelphi Alcove Units
Alcove units in Adelphi: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, made at our workshop and fitted by us.
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Everyday clutter left on show
Need alcove units in Adelphi?
How we make alcove units for Adelphi
A classic layout is a low cupboard with open shelves above. The cupboards take the things you’d rather not see, while the shelves hold books and the things you want on show. The top of the cupboard makes a useful surface at a comfortable height. Heights are agreed with you to suit the room and your things. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the usual reasons to get in touch are toys and paperwork with no proper home and walls too uneven for standard furniture.
Getting long pieces into a flat often takes the most planning. With purpose-built flats home to most households around Adelphi, alcove units are designed in sections from the start. The joins are placed where they won’t show once the furniture is fitted.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, its materials and its finish, and it’s what the workshop builds to.
- Where
- Adelphi (W1D, W1F, WC2H)
- Area
- Westminster
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Materials and finishes
Shelves
Shelf thickness depends on the span and the load. For a wide span or heavy books, we use a thicker shelf, a lip on the front or a support.
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. It is easy to touch up later, and it gives a softer, traditional look.
How we price alcove units
To work out the quote, we look at:
- How big the furniture is
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- Access to the room, such as stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
What goes inside matters as much as the outside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers all add work. At the design visit, we work out what you need inside, then set it out in the quote.
Before the design visit
To give us a picture of the room, it helps to include:
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- What the furniture needs to hold
If you know what you want, say so; if you don’t, that is fine, and we can work it out together. At the design visit, we measure up and talk the design through with you, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To start, send us a few details through our contact form.
Neighbourhoods near Adelphi
What happens on fitting day
Once the main sections are fixed in place, we hang any doors and fit any drawers or lids. We adjust each one so the gaps line up and it closes cleanly, and then we check it all again. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. In a block without a lift, every section goes up the stairs, so it’s sized to be manageable. The tightest landing sets the largest piece. The pieces are assembled in the flat.
- To begin, tell us about the room on our contact form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, discuss the design and check the route from the street to the room.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- In our workshop we build the units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, sized so each piece gets up the stairs and round the corners.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
Before fitting day
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Let us know about parking near your home
Arranging a design visit
To make a start, tell us about the room on our contact form and tell us a little about the room. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and send you a quote in writing afterwards.
Read more
Tips worth knowing
A few practical points help before and after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Check whether there’s a vent in the chimney breast
Make a note of the paint colour used so any touch-ups match. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place.
Keep heaters and very hot lamps from standing right against the paintwork, because constant heat isn’t kind to a painted finish.
Why people ask for alcove units in Adelphi
Others want a proper home for books, records or a TV. An alcove unit can be shaped around what you own, with shelf heights and depths to suit.
Requests we hear often include:
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Benjamin Franklin House, about 0.2 miles south-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Before you choose who makes it
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
- Will the quote be in writing?
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
Adelphi homes and alcove units
Homes built before 1919 make up about 41% of the housing in the streets around Adelphi, with about 26% built since 2000, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Within a mile of the centre of Adelphi, 38 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. About 26% of homes in the area around Adelphi were built since 2000, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). In homes built since 2000, living rooms are often open-plan with stud walls, so the fixings go into the studs, or heavier pieces stand on the floor.
For an older house near Savoy Chapel, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. If you live near Victoria Embankment Gardens, a room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Adelphi is within the City of Westminster, about 1 mile west of City of Westminster. Anywhere in Adelphi, the process is the same: we visit and measure, send a written quote, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. We cover places right across Westminster, large and small.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: W1D, W1F and WC2H. Our area takes in homes on streets like York Road, Drury Lane and Maiden Lane, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Adelphi sits close to the A301 and A400. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the measuring visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Covent Garden (1 mile north), Charing Cross (1 mile south-west), Aldwych (1 mile north-east), Seven Dials (1 mile north-west) and West End (1 mile north-west). Other parts of Westminster we cover include Paddington Green (2 miles west), Paddington (2 miles west), Connaught Village (2 miles west), Belgravia (2 miles south-west), Lisson Grove (2 miles north-west) and Westbourne (3 miles west).
Landmarks near Adelphi
We fit furniture in homes around The Theodore Bullfrog pub, St Andrew's and St John's Church of England Primary School and London Nautical School and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in Adelphi itself: London Charing Cross station. Nearby you’ll also find Gabriel's Wharf (0.6 miles east) and London Museum and Institute of Natural History (less than half a mile north-east). Not far away are Ludgate Hill and St. James's Park Lake.
Questions from Adelphi
Do you cover homes near London Charing Cross station?
Yes, homes across Westminster and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can use our contact form with a few details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. If you’re unsure, the council can confirm.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
It’s a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, then send a written quote.
How long does it take to fit alcove units?
The time on site depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. The units are made in our workshop first, so the time in your home is mostly fitting, scribing and finishing.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. Ideally it’s done before fitting so the sockets line up with the design. We then plan cut-outs and cable gaps around them.
Can I send photos ahead of the visit?
Yes, they help. A few pictures of the room, from floor to ceiling, tell us a lot, particularly with rough measurements. To send them, get in touch through our contact form.